The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-04-29

This comparison shows that even the
phenomenally low prices of 1885 and
1856. for many imported staples, the
lowest recorded in Great Britain for
fifty or even for one hundred years.
have not been lower in the New York
market for most farm products than
the prices OF the last prosperous year
before the war. Prices of wheat. corn.
hogs and cotton are omitted from this
table because production in this coun-
try largely in excess Of the home de-
mand has compelled the farmer to de-
pend upon foreign markets for the sale
of the surplus. Prices Of wool are also
excluded, because the change of tariff
and the rulings of an Administration
unfriendly to protection have greatly
increased the importations of foreign
wool and depressed American prices.
as was explained in previous article
But it will startls many farmers to see
how well the prices of many important
products have been maintained. not
outstanding the wonderful increase
in production and the still more WON
derful decrease in charges for trans
pOrtation. II the farmers whose ap-
pies were sold in this market at $21S
per barrel last November did not OBJ
tain higher price for them than was
obtained for similar grades of apples av-
eraging 81 % per barrel in 1860. when
the cost of transportation to this mar
ket was two or three times as great.
the fault is certainly their own. The
prices obtained for qualities of hay
quoted in this market are not. rs is well
known. a test of the prices obtained by
farmers in nearby cities or manufact-
uring towns. But every other article
m the list averaged higher for the five
years 1SS0-1SS4 inclusive than the price
in 1860. This notwithstanding 4 de-
cline in the cost of transportation,
which implies further advantage to
the producers on distant farms.
The favorite free-trade argument,
therefore. appears to rest upon false
statement of facts. Because the price
OF few farm products of which a
large surplus is here produced which
must seek foreign markets have been
lower Of late than before the war, the
inference is falsely drawn that prices
of all farm products as = whole have
declined. The difference in the cost O;
transportation. often exceeding the
farm value OF the articles quoted. is en-
tirelv ignored The change in the
efficiency of labor, through the mar
velous development Of American man.
ufactures and the cheap supply of
labor-saving machinery and imple-
ments is entirely ignored. Yet the
farmers of this country have not. as q
rule. been greatly deceived. Their
common sense has taught them that
on the whole they have prospered far
more than their fathers a generation
ago. and are able to live easier lives. TO
accumulate more money. to give better
education to their children. and mean
while they have seen the value of their
farms greatly advanced. Because the
farmers are not ignorant Of these
things, though many OF them may not
have access TO the statistics which
prove that better prices are in fact
realized on the whole for farm prod
ucts than were realized before the wax.
it has been 4 noteworthy fact in the
political history of the country that the
protective system has been steadily
sustained by the votes of the farming
States and the farming population. and
has been imperilled only by the votes
of the great cities.-N i. Tribune.